dbcve.org
Mac Os XOperating system · Apple

CVE-2022-22627

HIGH · 7.1 CVSS v3.1 Published 2022-03-18
Fix available
A fix is available. Upgrade to 10.15.7 / 11.6.5 or later.
See remediation →
74/100
Remediation priority · Elevated
No privileges

Official description Straight from the sourceThe vendor's or NVD's own wording, published unedited. Authoritative, but often terse — it says what broke, rarely what to do.

NVD · unedited
An out-of-bounds read was addressed with improved bounds checking. This issue is fixed in macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3, Security Update 2022-003 Catalina. Processing a maliciously crafted AppleScript binary may result in unexpected application termination or disclosure of process memory.

Technical summary Written by usOur analysis, written from the advisory, the CVSS vector and the affected-version data. It adds context the advisory leaves out, and never invents facts that are not in the source.

dbcve analysis · high confidence

An out-of-bounds read vulnerability exists in macOS AppleScript binary parsing. When processing a maliciously crafted AppleScript binary, the parser reads beyond allocated buffer boundaries, potentially causing application crashes (denial of service) or leaking sensitive process memory to an attacker.

MitigationApply vendor-supplied security updates: macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3, or Security Update 2022-003 Catalina. Prioritize systems that process untrusted AppleScript binaries.

Verify against the referenced sources before acting — the references below are authoritative for this CVE, this summary is not.

Affected products & versions What the vendor confirmedThe version ranges the vendor confirmed as vulnerable. If your version sits inside a range here, treat yourself as exposed until you have upgraded.

NVD · CPE data
Mac Os XOperating system
Affected:>= 10.15, < 10.15.7= 10.15.7
macOSOperating system
Affected:>= 11.0, < 11.6.5>= 12.0, < 12.3

CVSS breakdown How the score is builtThe industry scoring standard. It rates how the flaw is reached, what it takes to exploit, and what an attacker gains — the score is derived from those, not the other way round.

From the vector
Attack vector
Local
Complexity
Low
Privileges
None
User interaction
Required
Scope
Unchanged
Confidentiality
High
Integrity
None
Availability
High

CVSS:3.1/AV:L/AC:L/PR:N/UI:R/S:U/C:H/I:N/A:H

Am I affected? How to checkSteps we derive from the advisory and the affected-version data, so you can decide whether this CVE reaches your setup. They are a guide, not a scan — your own configuration is the authority.

dbcve checks

Work through these to decide whether this CVE applies to you.

  1. Determine your macOS version
    Run 'sw_vers -productVersion' in Terminal, or go to Apple menu > About This Mac
    Affected if The version is 10.15.x (any build before 10.15.7), 11.x before 11.6.5, or 12.x before 12.3
  2. Verify AppleScript interpreter availability
    Run 'which osascript' or 'osascript -e "1"' to confirm AppleScript runtime is present
    Affected if The osascript command executes successfully, indicating AppleScript processing capability is enabled on the system
  3. Confirm AppleScript handling configuration
    Check if AppleScript is enabled by examining /System/Library/CoreServices/appleScriptUtility (if accessible) or by attempting to compile a simple script with 'osascript -e "say \"test\""'
    Affected if AppleScript executes without being explicitly disabled, meaning the parser component is active and could process malicious binaries

You are affected if your macOS version falls within 10.15.x (< 10.15.7 or = 10.15.7), 11.x (< 11.6.5), or 12.x (< 12.3) AND AppleScript functionality is available on your system.

Generated from the published advisory. Verify against your own configuration.

Check your environment

Paste your version and any relevant configuration and it will be compared against the affected criteria above. Do not include secrets or credentials.

AI-assisted, checked against the advisory. Informational, not a guarantee.

Remediation Closing itWhat it takes to close this. Where a vendor fix exists we point at it; where none exists we say so plainly, and can build one. Effort estimates are scoped from the advisory, not from your codebase.

dbcve · scoped
Upgrade available Upgrade to 10.15.7 / 11.6.5 / 12.3 or later
Fixed in 10.15.711.6.512.3
Interim mitigation

Apply vendor-supplied security updates: macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3, or Security Update 2022-003 Catalina. Prioritize systems that process untrusted AppleScript binaries.

Recommended fix High confidence

macOS Big Sur 11.6.5, macOS Monterey 12.3, or Security Update 2022-003 for macOS Catalina

  1. Back up your Mac before applying any system updates
  2. Check the current macOS version: click Apple menu > About This Mac
  3. For macOS 10.15.x (Catalina): Install Security Update 2022-003 Catalina via Software Update
  4. For macOS 11.x (Big Sur): Upgrade to macOS Big Sur 11.6.5 via Software Update
  5. For macOS 12.x (Monterey): Upgrade to macOS Monterey 12.3 via Software Update
  6. Restart the computer after the update completes
  7. Verify the update was applied: click Apple menu > About This Mac and confirm the version number
Caveat Standard upgrade precautions apply - review release notes and ensure compatibility with critical applications before updating

Generated from the published advisory — verify against the referenced sources before acting.

Fix this in Mac Os X Scoped from the published advisory
  • Consultation3.0 h
  • Implementation6.0 h
  • Testing4.0 h
  • Review / QA2.0 h
15.0 hours of engineering $2,640
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References Go to the primary sourcePrimary sources — vendor advisories, patches and trackers. Where our summary and a reference disagree, the reference wins.

Primary sources

Practitioner notes

Contributed

Peer-ranked notes from engineers who’ve handled CVE-2022-22627 in production — separate from our analysis above.

No notes yet

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What this is

A place for practitioners to share what actually worked: a mitigation you’ve tested, a configuration change, a version- or environment-specific caveat, or a link to a verified patch. The most useful notes rise to the top as peers upvote them, so the signal stays high.

What belongs here
  • Verified mitigations, workarounds, and config changes
  • Version or environment caveats, and links to real fixes
  • No weaponised exploit code, or anything meant to cause harm
  • No spam, self-promotion, credentials, or personal data